Nara Skincare

NARA Skincare
Speculative Brand Concept — Art Direction + Campaign Design (AI-enhanced)

Overview
NARA is a luxury skincare brand concept inspired by ancient Japanese rituals and the slow-living philosophy of Bali. This speculative project explores how natural heritage and minimalism can intersect in a saturated beauty market to evoke calm, sensory connection.

My Role
I led the full creative direction — from brand strategy and tone development to visual storytelling and campaign design. I used Midjourney to generate mood-rich, dreamlike imagery and developed art direction guidelines for a modern, analog-inspired campaign.

The Challenge
To create a brand identity and campaign that feels:

  • Minimal yet emotionally textured

  • Luxurious yet grounded

  • Tactile and atmospheric

A young woman with long brown hair standing on a city sidewalk in the sunlight, wearing a light-colored sleeveless dress and carrying a large handbag.
Bottle of cream or lotion and an open container of cream on a stone slab, with dried white flowers and light-colored fabric in the background.
A beige pump bottle of skincare product on a textured white stone slab, with dried botanical stems and a small white dish nearby, illuminated by soft natural light.
Close-up of a woman's hands clasped in front of her, with shadow of a plant cast onto her skin and cream-colored clothing, hinting at sunlight and indoor setting
A woman with closed eyes, touching her face gently, appears to be relaxing with sunlight streaming in.
A windowsill with a ceramic vase holding two thin incense sticks, a yellow lemon, a wooden tray with a white candle emitting smoke, a yellow spherical object, and a small piece of driftwood. Sunlight casts shadows of nearby branches and leaves onto t
A woman with closed eyes and a relaxed expression stands against a beige wall, illuminated by sunlight and shadows from leaves, wearing a cream-colored kimono-style robe.
A woman with fair skin and freckles resting with her eyes closed, wearing a wide-brimmed straw hat and a light-colored shirt, leaning against a wicker surface.
A woman with closed eyes and relaxed expression, sitting in sunlight with shadows of leafy plant shadows on her face and background.
A wooden shelf holding skincare products, a decorative stone, and dried grasses, with soft natural lighting and textured wall background.
Young woman with short dark hair and a beige coat standing on city sidewalk, holding books and a tote bag, illuminated by sunlight, in front of storefronts and other pedestrians.

Concept
“Skin as Ritual” is the heart of NARA’s story — drawing from forest bathing (Shinrin-yoku) and Balinese simplicity to position skincare as a sensory, grounding practice. The brand invites you to slow down, reconnect, and experience care through ritual.

Creative Direction
Visual tone: Filmic, intimate, natural
Verbal tone: Soft, poetic, elemental

Color Palette:
✦ Stone Beige
✦ Bone White
✦ Olive Green
✦ Driftwood Brown

Typography: A refined serif with subtle irregularities — quiet and grounded.

Photography Direction
I developed a photography guide that reflects NARA’s slow-beauty philosophy:

  • Shot on film or digitally treated to emulate analog softness

  • Styled with raw textures: linen, ceramics, wood

  • Natural sunlight, cast shadows, and quiet imperfections

  • Human presence as serene and sensorial, not posed

(Images created with Midjourney to convey tone and mood at the concept phase.)

Design Process

  1. Discovery — competitive audit, brand positioning

  2. Mood & Direction — moodboards, visual pillars, tone of voice

  3. Identity Design — logo, typography, packaging mockups

  4. Art Direction — styling guidelines, layout sketches, Midjourney prototyping

  5. Campaign Execution — editorial spreads, digtial rollouts, packaging concepts

Why AI? I used MidJourney intentionally to visualize mood, atmosphere, and styling direction. It served as a co-creative tool to prototype visual worlds quickly and translate intangible brand values into compelling imagery.

Outcome
NARA presents a blueprint for modern heritage brands, rooted in ritual, designed with restraint, and built to resonate emotionally across physical and digital touchpoints.